SANTIAGO, March 17 - Chile's new right-wing government has deployed heavy earth-moving equipment to carve trenches along its northern border with Peru, moving forward on President Jose Antonio Kast's pledge to tighten controls on illegal migration and bolster the military presence in the border region.
The initiative, which Kast promised during his campaign, calls for physical barriers at strategic crossing points to reduce unauthorized entries. On Monday the president visited the Chacalluta border post to inspect the opening of the construction, framing the works as part of an effort to reassert state authority over the frontier.
While on site Kast said the plan would use excavation equipment to fortify Chile's sovereignty in response to illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and organized crime. During the visit he climbed onto one of the excavators and greeted military personnel stationed in the area.
Kast, who took office last week, has described his intention to lead an "emergency government" focused on stabilizing public finances and confronting drug trafficking. Since the inauguration, his administration has issued a series of decrees aimed at tightening security along Chile's northern border.
According to the president, irregular crossings have brought more than 180,000 people into Chile in recent years, a figure he has used to justify the construction of physical barriers to halt the flow of unauthorized migrants.
Chile is commonly regarded as one of the safer countries in the region, according to United Nations data cited by officials, though authorities and analysts have noted a recent upswing in activity by organized criminal groups, a deterioration linked in part to heightened public concerns about insecurity and a rise in homicides.
Human rights advocates and migrant support organizations have raised alarm about the hardline immigration policies being pursued, warning that such measures could put migrants at risk. Osvaldo Llinás Quintero, director of Chile's Observatory of Migration Governance and Human Rights, posted on Instagram that migration policy must account for security but also "fundamental principles such as due process, family unity, the best interests of the child, and respect for international human rights treaties."
The government has not provided additional operational details beyond the start of the trench construction and the release of the president's public statements during the inspection.
Context and immediate actions
- Heavy machinery has been deployed to dig trenches near the Chacalluta border post on the Peru-Chile frontier.
- The measures are part of President Kast's campaign promise to install physical barriers and increase military presence to address unauthorized migration, drug trafficking, and organized crime.
- The president inspected the works, interacted with military personnel, and emphasized a return of state control at the border.